I do mostly new construction with the ocassional service upgrade. I got a phone call today asking me if their house was struck by lightning a couple weeks ago. I told them I think if your house was struck by lightning you would have major problems, but i've never seen a house that was struck by lightning. I only do my work on a parttime basis. Anyway I go to their house and they tell me when they turn the furnace or washer on the lights dim and in one bedroom the tv turns off.they said this never happened until they lost power a couple weeks ago. I open the panel didn't see any signs of overheating or charring. They also said they lost all of the phones none of them worked after the power came back on.Only two branch circuits have grounds as its an older home.They only have a 100amp service and all electric except furnace. I think they got a power surge that killed their phones as those circuits aren't grounded, and they need a service upgrade.
Troubleshooting
- Thread starter gerns
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peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
Re: Troubleshooting
The problem sounds like an open neutral. Contact the utility company as soon as possible, because the problem may be on their end, but you need to do some more investigating first.
The open neutral could be at the service drop, the meter socket, or the main panel. Since you checked the main panel, you should now check the other items I mentioned. If everything is fine, then the problem is on the utility side.
The problem sounds like an open neutral. Contact the utility company as soon as possible, because the problem may be on their end, but you need to do some more investigating first.
The open neutral could be at the service drop, the meter socket, or the main panel. Since you checked the main panel, you should now check the other items I mentioned. If everything is fine, then the problem is on the utility side.
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